February 14th 2016 marked the day of the Democratic primary election in New Hampshire, winning by 60.4% against his opponent Hillary Clinton. Making Bernie Sanders officially one of the front runners in the Democratic race. After entering America’s Presidential Election on April 30th 2015, Sanders was considered an underdog, starting out with only 7% of predicted votes. Within the last 10 months Sanders has climbed the polls and is now neck and neck with Clinton, as he is currently receiving approximately 40% of Democratic votes.
Sanders recent success is surprising among many, yet what is most surprising is the amount of support gained from his younger voters. The large difference among the Democratic votes from youth was first seen in 2016’s Democratic primary election in Iowa. Though Sanders did not win overall, he did gain 84% of votes from individuals aged 18- 27. But what is the reason for Bernie Sanders success among the young people of America?
One large reason young people like Sanders is because he has talked profusely about student loan debt and the rising tuition cost in America. Sanders has promised Americans a tuition-free post-secondary institution, in order to remove the elitism form higher education, making it accessible to all. He also hopes to cut student load interest from 4.29% to 2.37%. Making him unsurprisingly popular with student voters.
The ex Mayor of Burlington, Vermont has been a longtime supporter of LGBT rights. Even supporting Burlington’s first Gay Pride Parade in 1983. However, Sanders is aware that there is still work that needs to be done.
“In many states, it is still legal to fire someone for being gay. It is legal to deny someone housing for being transgender. That is unacceptable and must change. We must end discrimination in all forms,” stated Sanders on his official website.
Bernie Sanders views are very similar to the views of many American youth today. Strong beliefs about marriage and gender equality have become a large topic of concern and activism. Sanders is also a supporter of Black Lives Matter. A movement which seeks to end racial profiling and police brutality. But it is not only as of recent that Sanders has been a supporter of movements such as Black Lives Matter. In the 1960’s Sanders was involved in the Civil rights movement, having participated in rallies, sit-ins and even attended Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in 1963.
Another reason for Sanders success within the younger population is due to his presence and support online. It is difficult to go on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram without seeing Bernie Sanders name at least somewhere. Though it may be even harder to avoid seeing the Republican candidate Donald Trump, Sanders is posted in a much more positive light. Powerful quotes and images from various rallies can be seen all over the internet. Though Clinton is ruling twitter with around 5.4 million followers, Sanders is currently sitting a humble 1.4 million followers, many of them being from a young age demographic.Â
After receiving over 1 million individual donations, Sanders was the first candidate to reach that amount in the 2016 presidential election. Many of these donations coming from Unions, rather than his opposition’s donations, which have been greatly contributed by large corporations such as Goldman Sachs and Time Warner Cable. Sanders has also held some of the largest rallies from to 2016 election. His political rallies have seen over 100 000 optimistic, young faces. Making it clear that Sander’s campaign is backed by many who are wanting to see change throughout American.
Though it may be a tight race between the two Democratic candidates, it is evident that the youth of America are feeling the Bern.
